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Report - - Foxs Mill (Tonedale Mill) Wellington, Somerset - May 2010 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Foxs Mill (Tonedale Mill) Wellington, Somerset - May 2010

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Styru

Admin
28DL Full Member
Hello boys (and girls) - and what are you wearing tonight???

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(picture posed by actress - actual explorer may differ from illustration)

OK - so that may seem a strange way to start a report - but if it wasn't for Tonedale Mill we might all be trying to explore in bright red clothing, for it was Tonedale that developed the colour khaki for the British Army.

A potted history poached from the developers brochure:

The 12.6 acre former woollen textile mill complex was established in 1790 by the Fox family, Tonedale Mill was the largest integrated mill in the South West, producing woollen and worsted
fabrics.

It became a site of national importance during the Boer War when the Tonedale dyers developed the ‘khaki’ dye - given the royal seal of approval by the then Prince of Wales in 1900 – which led to the end of British soldiers’ ‘redcoats’.

At its peak, Tonedale Mill employed some 4,500 people and exported fabrics around the world. It also provided livelihoods for other related trades on the site, including bookbinders, basket weavers, stonemasons and metalworkers.

From the 1950s, manufacturing at Britain’s mills went into decline.
The deafening noise of the powerlooms housed in Tonedale’s weaving sheds was heard no more once production on the site ceased by the end of the 1990s, although the firm of Fox Brothers and Company Ltd still exists and operates in a nearby location to this day.

So, what better way to spend an afternoon than a little wander in the fine company of Urbanity? - safe in the knowledge that we were helping to document a little slice of history in a relaxed, and - as it was Bank Holiday - security guard free - way (one major part of that statement turned out to be rather wrong)

Anyway - on with a few pics.....


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Firstly, the single story weaving shed....

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(please fasten your seat-belts)

It was whilst packing away our gear (in order to move on to the rest of the site), and generally chatting that, to shamelessly parody the great Douglas Adams, the word yellow wandered across my mind (plenty of space to wander you see)

As I tinkered with my tripod that word yellow continued to try and find something to connect with - it found it!

Ah yes, that was what was yellow - that nice jacket on the security bloke stood right outside the window!!

A few silent hand gestures later and we were standing against an inside wall wondering how on earth he could have failed to see us - then it hit me - I was wearing KHAKI - if it had been RED we would have been buggered - thank you Tonedale!

Having waited a reasonable length of time we ventured back out to take a little wander around the site.....

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(Loved the patterns on the far wall/floor made by the shadows of the roof on that one)


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Before venturing into the main mill building....

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(Styru)

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(Urbanity)

And so there we have it, a mill with a vitally important place in weaving/military history.

Oh - but hang on - what good is a mill without decent machinery? :crazy

Continued below.....


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Last edited:

Styru

Admin
28DL Full Member
.... and so the holy grail - the development into yuppie flats stalled a while back - thanks to the recession.

Not all the machinery was removed :D

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View attachment 222711

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And a final look across the rooftops of Tonedale towards the Wellington Monument:

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175 feet of (internally) climbable goodness - perhaps a job for another day :rolleyes:


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urbanity

28dl flâneur
28DL Full Member
update: The Engine House

Boilers with loading hopper:

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Steam-powered fire pump that could have auto-started:

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More contemporary replacement?

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Incognito

Just Reckless.
28DL Full Member
very nice update, I take these have gone now. If not I really need to open my eyes as I have been recently and I think i'd remember seeing those lol
 
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